Harpa Concert Hall

Hundreds of glass panels wrap the building, shaped after Iceland's basalt columns. The colour depends on the light. In sun the glass takes the blue of the sky and the water; under cloud it turns silver-grey; at sunset it goes gold. After dark the panels are lit from within. Walk a full circle around it and the profile shifts from sharp and angular to soft.

The inside repays the same attention. Glass walls, a geometric ceiling, design shops, a café facing the water, restaurants and bars, and seats along the windows with the harbour and the mountains behind it. Harpa is home to the national opera and symphony.

• The toilets are paid. They are inside the building; the nearest free public toilet is about 215 m away.
• Cards work everywhere. Credit cards, debit cards and contactless payment are all accepted.
• The Volcano Express show runs on the lowest level and lasts about 15 minutes.
• The interior is part of the visit. Design shops, a café with water views and seating along the glass are all in the public areas.
• Two more stops on the same waterfront. The Sun Voyager sculpture and the Old Harbour sit along the same stretch of shore.

Harpa stands on the Reykjavík waterfront, beside the Old Harbour. A bus stop called Harpa is under 100 m from the building. Drivers will find car parks within about 150 m of the entrance, although the lot closest to the door is private. From either the stop or the car parks, the last stretch is a walk of under 150 m to a step-free entrance.

Best: late afternoon into dusk, when low sun catches the panels; after dark the glass is lit from within.

Avoid: overhead midday light if photographs are the point, since the panels flatten out.

The façade has no fixed colour of its own. It takes one from the sky, so an overcast day gives silver-grey and a clear one gives blue. The exterior is worth a circuit in any weather; the interior only during opening hours.